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Austria - European Union Political News
Read the latest headlines about developments in Austrian - European Union (Brussels) politics with reference to the international interest
U.S. and EU Establish "Transatlantic Coordination" Against Russia
Europe and the U.S. are closing ranks in the face of feared Russian aggression against Ukraine. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and EU High Representative Josep Borrell are determined to "form a strong, clear and united transatlantic front," European Union External Action announced after a phone call between the two. According to the statement, they expressed their commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.
January 16, 2022
President of Switzerland on Official State Visit to Austria
On his first official visit to Austria as president, Swiss President Ignazio Cassis met with Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen. Read more about the meeting between the two presidents.
January 14, 2022
NATO and Russian Leaders Say Differences "Will Be Hard to Bridge"
Representatives from NATO and Russia met in Brussels at the NATO-Russia Council to try to de-escalate the tensions between Russia and Ukraine and NATO. Read what each side is demanding and why the leaders say the differences "will be hard to bridge."
January 12, 2022
Human Rights Commissioner Voices Concern About Asylum Situation in Austria
European Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović criticizes the asylum situation in Austria after her visit. "High number of femicides and the emergence of new digital dimensions of violence show, increased and better co-ordinated efforts are required."
December 22, 2021
Nehammer on First Trip to Brussels as Chancellor: "I'm an Ardent European"
Chancellor Nehammer made his first trip to Brussels for the European Council and the EU Eastern Partnership Summit. There he met with the other heads of state and government of the EU member states, as well as EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Read what Nehammer discussed on the trip.
December 16, 2021
Austrian Government Opposes Boycott of the China Winter Olympics
The Austrian government has expressed its opposition to a boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in China. Read which countries support the boycott and what the Austrian government has said about it.
December 16, 2021
Priorities of Austrian Foreign Policy in the Face of Numerous Global Challenges in 2022
The Foreign Policy Committee of the Austrian National Council recently met to discuss some of the major global challenges going into 2022. Read which issues they discussed and Austria's stance on them.
December 15, 2021
Austria Offers to Build Bridges in the Russia-Ukraine Conflict
In the EU Main Committee in the Austrian Parliament, Chancellor Nehammer offered for Austria to be a "bridge-builder" in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Read about the escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine and Austria's efforts at de-escalation.
December 14, 2021
After Pandemic Shock, Strong Upturn in Foreign Trade: China +26.4 %, USA +18 %
New data for January to September 2021 shows that Austria's foreign trade is returning to pre-pandemic levels. Read about Austria's improving trade figures.
December 10, 2021
Austrian Compulsory Vaccination Bill is Ready: "We Want Freedom Back!"
The Austrian government has announced that the controversial compulsory vaccination bill is finally ready. Read what Constitutional Minister Edtstadler said about the bill and regaining freedom.
December 10, 2021
Inaugural Statement of Austria's New Chancellor: "We Want to Reconcile with History"
Newly appointed Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer delivered his inaugural statement to the National Council. Read what the new chancellor said are some of the key issues his government will focus on.
December 10, 2021
Edtstadler at General Affairs Council: Mandatory Vaccination is Necessary
At a meeting of the EU General Affairs Council in Brussels, Austrian EU Minister Karoline Edtstadler stressed the need for mandatory vaccinations in Austria and coordination in the fight against COVID-19 at the European level. Read Edtstadler's expectations for the European Commission, her defense of compulsory vaccinations, and more.
November 24, 2021
High-level Belarus Conference in Vienna
Chancellor Schallenberg participated in a video conference to discuss the situation in Belarus and the worsening humanitarian crisis at the EU's external border with numerous representatives from other EU member states and Belarusian opposition politicians. Read what was discussed at the meeting and watch a joint press conference with Schallenberg and Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.
November 23, 2021
Western Balkans: Foreign Minister Linhart Visits Albania and North Macedonia
Foreign Minister Linhart, accompanied by an Austrian business delegation, visited the Western Balkan States of North Macedonia and Albania. Read about the foreign minister's meetings with various government officials, as well as his meetings with local business people as part of the ReFocus Austria initiative.
November 22, 2021
Austria Welcomes New Sanctions Against Belarus
Foreign Minister Linhart attended the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, at which the 27 foreign ministers of the EU agreed upon new sanctions against Belarus. They also discussed other topics, such as the EU enlargement process. Read what was discussed at the meeting and watch an interview with the Austrian foreign minister.
November 16, 2021
Money Laundering, Tax Offenses and Terrorist Financing on the Rise
The Austrian Ministry of the Interior reported an increase in money laundering, tax offenses, and terrorist financing in 2020. Read more details about this disturbing trend and its causes.
November 4, 2021
Solidarity Against Political Islam
Austrian Integration Minister Susanne Raab hosted the "Vienna Forum on Countering Segregation and Extremism in the Context of Integration." Various officials from across Europe came to discuss the fight against extremist movements such as "political Islam." Read about the key areas that Raab and the others agreed upon at the event.
November 4, 2021
Schallenberg at UN Climate Conference: "We can only overcome a global crisis together"
Chancellor Schallenberg recently spoke at the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow. The Austrian chancellor stressed the need for international cooperation to fight climate change. Read some of Austria's climate goals, what steps it is taking to achieve these, and what the chancellor said still needs to be done.
November 2, 2021
African Union and European Union to Strengthen Cooperation on COVID-19
Representatives of the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU), including Austrian Secretary-General for Foreign Affairs Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal, recently met in Kigali, Rwanda. The COVID-19 pandemic, especially unequal vaccine distribution, was a central topic of discussion. Read more about the meeting and the effort to increase vaccine access around the globe.
October 29, 2021
Economic Diplomacy a la "ReFocus": Connecting Diplomatic Representatives with Austria's Business Community
Diplomatic representatives in Austria met with members of the Austrian business community as part of the "ReFocus Austria" government initiative aimed at promoting Austrian companies abroad and Austria as a business location. The main focus of this event was opportunities in the "green economy." Read more about this event and "ReFocus Austria."
October 27, 2021
Vienna Hosts "Central 5" Foreign Ministers
The foreign ministers of Slovenia, Slovakia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Austria, which make up the informal "Central 5" (C5) forum, recently met at the Albertina in Vienna. Read about the meeting, what Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Linhart said, and watch the full joint press conference.
October 26, 2021
Smart Borders: Austrian Green Light for Implementation of EU-wide Entry/Exit System
Austria has passed a law to help implement the EU-wide entry/exit system (EES) as stipulated in the EU's "Smart Borders Package." Read more about the new law and what it means for border controls and law enforcement cooperation in the EU.
October 25, 2021
Austria Opposes Further Expansion of Hungarian Nuclear Power Plant Paks II
All five Austrian parliamentary parties are opposed to the expansion of the Paks II Nuclear Power Plant in Hungary due to serious safety concerns. The Environment Committee in parliament has unanimously called on the government to take all possible actions to oppose its construction. Read why Austria considers the power plant's expansion dangerous.
October 25, 2021
President of the Republic of Moldova on State Visit to Austria
The President of Moldova, Maia Sandu, made her first official visit to Austria and met with President Van der Bellen. Read about the meeting between the two heads of state and what they discussed.
October 22, 2021
Austria's Strategy for the Upcoming European Council Meeting
Ahead of the European Council meeting in Brussels, Austrian Chancellor Schallenberg, EU Minister Edtstadler, and members of parliament laid out Austria's strategy for the meeting. Read their stances on the key issues they plan to raise in Brussels.
October 22, 2021
Call for Solidarity for China Sanctioned States Including Taiwan
A motion for a resolution was filed in the Austrian Parliament calling for the Austrian government to support countries, such as Taiwan, sanctioned by China for supporting democracy, human rights, and other global values. Read about the motion and the reasoning behind it.
October 21, 2021
Foreign Minister Linhart's Inaugural Visit to the EU Foreign Affairs Council
Foreign Minister Linhart recently traveled to Luxembourg for his first meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council. In a meeting with the other foreign ministers from the EU, they discussed various issues, including the EU's Eastern Partnership and the war in Ethiopia. Linhart also met with Libyan Foreign Minister Najla El Mangoush during his visit. Read about Linhart's trip and what was discussed in the meetings, and watch Linhart's interview outside the event.
October 19, 2021
Western Balkans: First Foreign Trip of the New Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Linhart
Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Linhart went on his first trip abroad since becoming the foreign minister. Linhart traveled to the Western Balkan state of Bosnia and Herzegovina to meet with members of the international presence, business leaders, and various politicians, including his Bosnian counterpart Bisera Turković. Read more about his trip.
October 15, 2021
Schallenberg's First Foreign Trip as Austrian Chancellor
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President Charles Michel recently met for talks in Brussels with Chancellor Schallenberg on his first foreign trip since being appointed chancellor. Read about the chancellor's trip, his talks with the two leaders, and a Twitter error involving former Chancellor Kurz.
October 15, 2021
EU Justice Commissioner Reynders and Justice Minister Zadić Share Concerns Over Rule of Law in Poland
The EU Justice Commissioner, Didier Reynders, was hosted by Austrian Minister of Justice Alma Zadić for a working meeting in Vienna. The two discussed various issues, including their shared concern regarding the rule of law following the Polish Constitutional Court's ruling on the primacy of national law over EU law. Read about their meeting and the increased tensions surrounding the Polish court's decision.
October 12, 2021
Antisemitic Vandalism at Auschwitz-Birkenau Highlights Alarming Trend
One day after an Austrian delegation, including President Van der Bellen, Foreign Minister Schallenberg, and EU Minister Edtstadler spoke at the opening of the new Austrian exhibition at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum and Memorial, the museum reported antisemitic vandalism at the camp. The shocking incident underscores a larger trend of antisemitism in Europe and around the world. Read more about the incident, the trend of antisemitism, and what is being done to combat it.
October 7, 2021
Polish-Austrian Relations: Official Visit and Business Forum in Warsaw
Polish President Andrzej Duda hosted Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen in Warsaw for the first official visit of an Austrian President in Poland since 2009. The two had a meeting and held a joint press conference in which they discussed various issues, including Poland's current issues with the EU. Van der Bellen also attended an economic forum and met with other Polish leaders. Read more about the details of the President's visit to Poland.
October 6, 2021
EU Support to Western Balkans as Repulsion against China and Turkey
European heads of state and government that make up the European Council, including Chancellor Kurz, met in Slovenia for informal talks and the Western Balkans Summit. In addition to other issues, the leaders discussed the accession of Albania, North Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Kosovo to the EU. Read more about what Kurz and the EU said about the enlargement process.
October 6, 2021
Multilateralism at the UN General Assembly: Kurz and Schallenberg in NYC
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and Foreign Minister Schallenberg are in New York for the 76th United Nations General Assembly. Their trip includes meetings with various delegations, with an emphasis on the situation in Afghanistan and the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, the pair, along with President Van der Bellen, will meet for talks with UN Secretary-General Antońio Guterres. Chancellor Kurz will also address the Council on Foreign Relations and Schallenberg will deliver a speech to the General Assembly. Read more about the details of their trip.
September 21, 2021
Minister for European Affairs: The Fight against Migration as a Means of Pressure on the EU
Austrian Minister for European Affairs Karoline Edtstadler embarked on a multi-country trip to Latvia, Lithuania, Cyprus, and Romania. The central topic of discussion is the increasing migratory pressure on the EU’s external borders, especially from Afghanistan and Belarus. Minister Edtstadler emphasized the need for border security at the EU's external borders and for targeted sanctions on Alexander Lukashenko's regime.
September 15, 2021
Forum Alpbach: Reaffirming the Importance of the Conference on the Future of Europe
The EU ministers from five member states signed the "Alpbach Declaration on the Future of Europe" at the European Forum Alpbach. The five ministers were Judit Varga from Hungary, Thomas Byrne from Ireland, Miltiadis Varvitsiotis from Greece, Juan González-Barba from Spain, and Karoline Edtstadler from Austria. The declaration highlights the necessity for cooperation and dialogue to ensure that the EU has a successful future.
September 7, 2021
Vučić Hosted Kurz: The "Fight Against Illegal Migration"
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić recently received Chancellor Kurz in Belgrade. The two of them spoke about illegal migration, especially regarding the refugees fleeing from Afghanistan. Other topics of discussion included bilateral relations and the EU rapprochement process. Kurz also spoke with Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić about EU accession for the Western Balkans.
September 7, 2021
Schallenberg on Afghanistan: "Clear advance of mistrust toward the Taliban"
The Gymnich Meeting of EU foreign ministers recently took place in Slovenia. One of the main issues discussed during the two days of meetings was the situation in Afghanistan and how to deal with the Taliban going forward. Alexander Schallenberg expressed that there is a deep mistrust of the Taliban, but technical cooperation with them is currently necessary. Read more about what Schallenberg said and watch the video of him taking questions from the press.
September 7, 2021
Western Balkans: Further Austrian Corona Solidarity Campaign for all Six States
The final share of promised COVID-19 vaccines was delivered to Bosnia and Herzegovina, ending an EU solidarity campaign led by Austria. A total of 651,000 COVID-19 vaccines from the manufacturer BioNTech/Pfizer were provided to the six Western Balkan states: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.
August 30, 2021
Lithuania and Austria Support New Sanctions against Belarus
Lithuania and Austria have indicated that they are in favor of putting new sanctions on Belarus in response to the significant increase in illegal border crossings on the Belarusian-Lithuanian border. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis and Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė hosted their Austrian counterparts Alexander Schallenberg and Karl Nehammer at the border to discuss the ongoing situation.
August 26, 2021
Lavrov in Vienna: Tensions Following the Establishment of the Crimea Platform
In the first official bilateral visit of the Russian Foreign Minister to Vienna since 2009, Sergey Lavrov met with Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. The working talks included tense issues like the annexation of Crimea, human rights in Russia, Afghanistan, and the refugees on the Belarusian-Lithuanian border. However, they all expressed interest in continued dialogue and finding areas for cooperation between Austria, the EU, and Russia.
August 26, 2021
Van der Bellen Appeals for the Acceptance of Afghans
In his speech at the opening of the European Forum Alpbach (EFA) with Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen appealed for the acceptance of refugees from Afghanistan. Despite Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz's concerns about accepting refugees, the president argued that there is a legal, moral and political obligation for the EU to offer protection to those forced to leave their country.
August 25, 2021
Founding Event of the Crimea Platform: "Destabilization of Ukraine weakens the security of us all"
Amid talks with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shymal on the eve of Ukrainian Independence Day, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said International law is and remains a red line that must not be crossed.
August 24, 2021
Switzerland and Austria Step Up Fight Against Illegal Migration
Swiss Justice and Police Minister Karin Maria Keller-Sutter met Interior Minister Karl Nehammer to discuss the current developments in Afghanistan as well as Switzerland's accession to the migration platform.
August 23, 2021
Schallenberg on Afghanistan: "Particularly close coordination between the EU partners is essential."
Before a virtual meeting of EU foreign ministers, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg commented on the escalating events surrounding the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan. He stressed the necessity for cooperation among the EU member states to help deal with the situation.
August 20, 2021
Bulgarian President Meets With Van der Bellen in Salzburg
Bulgarian President Rumen Radev recently met with Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen at the Salzburg Festival. The two discussed various issues, including climate change, migration, the Western Balkans and more. Read more about their meeting.
August 2, 2021
Von der Leyen Meets With Alexander Schallenberg and Karoline Edtstadler
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met with Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg and Austrian Federal Minister for the EU and the Constitution Karoline Edtstadler at the Salzburg Festival.
July 27, 2021
The Central 5 (C5) Discusses COVID-19 in Czech Republic
Slovak Foreign Minister Ivan Korčok, Slovenian Foreign Minister Anže Logar, Czech Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhánek, and Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, met with Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg as part of the “Central 5” (C5) country group. Here they discussed the COVID-19 pandemic, EU enlargement, and more.
July 23, 2021
Von der Leyen and King Philippe Meet with Van der Bellen in Brussels
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Belgium's King Philippe each met with Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen on his latest trip to Brussels. Climate change was a key topic of discussion. Read what Van der Bellen had to say about it.
July 20, 2021
At Summit With Merkel, Kurz Reaffirms Support for Western Balkan EU Accession
German Chancellor Angela Merkel hosted Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and other leaders for the Western Balkans Summit. Kurz expressed his full support for the six Western Balkan states Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. Read what he said.
July 15, 2021
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